


Highlander and the Violence

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-12-31
Updated: 2001-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 06:44:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11868831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	Highlander and the Violence

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

Highlander and the Violence

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**HIGHLANDER AND THE VIOLENCE**

  


People unfamiliar with the Highlander universe may erroneously perceive the series as mainly about violence. Swords flash, fists fly, heads are sliced off. Slice and dice, etc. They may not understand what others see in it. 

We fans know better. Adrian Paul says, on his website, he was surprised to learn that the second season of _Highlander: The Series_ was rated the most violent program on television. 

The history of every country on this planet includes violence. The Holocaust was violent. Slavery was violent. The Roman Empire, Shogunate Japan, and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia were violent. Many of us occupy land that was once home to tribal villages. These tribes even fought each other violently. It is in our DNA. 

_Highlander: TS_ uses these and other historical flashbacks to instruct us ABOUT violence but never glorifies it or shows gratuitous gore. The scant blood we do see is necessary to tell the story. 

Violence, in _Highlander: TS_ is always presented as the last, unfortunate, alternative. Duncan MacLeod cherishes all life, does all he can to avoid taking a head, and never takes joy in killing-even his most evil enemies. If he sees that his adversary is not evil or truly remorseful, he will walk away, rather than kill. Always he seeks a peaceful solution, where possible. Somehow, he has found the strength to overcome his own nature. He was born a warrior who has learned to hate war. 

There is real violence in our homes, our streets, our schools, and our workplaces. We must recognize its causes and confront them, before we can end it. A surgeon must know how organs look and function before he can operate and heal. 

What is _Highlander: TS_ about? It is not about violence. It is about the love, forgiveness, and redemption that come from the defeat of violence. 

Peace, Emit   
© 2001   
  
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